Online
Applications Speed Admissions Process
University Of Virginia Receives More Than 15,000 Applications,
Extends Offers To 4,724 Students For Class Of 2008

March 31, 2004 --The University of Virginia’s Office of Admission
has completed the Herculean task of reviewing more than 15,000
applications for its entering class — thanks
in part to the applicants themselves, about three-quarters of whom made the process
more efficient by applying online. On Monday, the University mailed letters inviting
4,724 students to join the Class of 2008.

Those
who applied electronically, however, did not need to wait
by the mailbox for word of their fate. Their
decisions were available on a password-protected
Web site as of 5 p.m. Monday.

This
marked the first year that more than half of the admission
applications were completed online, said Dean of Admission
John
Blackburn. Students were also
encouraged to report their mid-year grades electronically, and teachers were
able to submit their recommendations online.

Applying
online speeds the application process by reducing the amount
of data entry work that admissions staffers must
perform, said Blackburn, who hinted
that applying electronically may soon become mandatory unless there are extenuating
circumstances that would prevent it.

The
profile of those offered admission continued several trends.
Academic credentials continue to get stronger numerically,
with
the median scores on the SAT-1 scores
up by 20 points over last year (to 690 verbal, 700 math, 1,390 total); the
mean grade-point average up slightly from 4.05 to 4.07; and
the mean class rank percentile
up slightly from 95.2 to 95.3.

The
total number of applicants also increased slightly, from
14,868 last year to 15,094 this year. The target enrollment
for the entering
class is 3,040.

Blackburn
projects that once the acceptances come in, in-state enrollment will remain
at about 67 percent, consistent with the levels of the past
five entering
classes.

The
number of Hispanic-American and African-American applications
increased this
year, Blackburn noted. U.Va. received 629 applications from Hispanic-American
students and 1,018 from African-American, up from 512 and 912 last year, respectively.

The
mix of international applicants has changed. “We are disappointed that
fewer students from the Middle East, particularly men, are applying, because
they think they will not be able to get a visa,” Blackburn said. However,
applications from other parts of the world are up.

Asked
where the new applications are coming from, P. Parke Muth,
senior assistant
dean of admission, replied, “In a word, Korea.” South Korea has established
a number of high schools designed specifically to prepare students for admission
to U.S. universities. At one such school, student SAT scores average 1,458 — comparable
to only the most elite U.S. schools, he noted.

Thailand
is making a similar push, Muth said, with government-sponsored
programs to identify and prepare its top
students for study at American universities.
Another new source of applications is communist China, where economic reforms
have given birth to a new upper class that can afford to send its sons and
daughters to foreign universities (where they receive no
financial aid). Six years ago,
U.Va. received no applications from China; this year, there were about 30,
Muth said.

Non-U.S.
citizens make up 7.9 percent of the undergraduate student
body this
year.

In
December, the University accepted an additional 943 students
into the Class of 2008 as part of the early-decision program,
under which students agree
to
attend the University, if accepted, in exchange for early action on their applications.

Those
offered admission have until May 1 to respond.

Contact:
Dan Heuchert, (434) 924-7676

FOR
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Contact the Office
of University Relations at (434) 924-7116. Television reporters
should contact the TV News Office at (434) 924-7550.